Founded in 1961, Universal Alloy Corporation (UAC)’s headquarter is currently located in Canton, the suburb of Atlanta (Georgia, US). UAC has been recognized as a world-leading manufacturer of aircraft components and supplier of hard alloy extrusions for various airlines, namely Boeing, Airbus, Embraer and Bombardier.
Mr. Kevin Loebbaka, Chief Executive Officer and President of UAC Europe, highlighted two main reasons behind their decisions on investing in Vietnam.
Firstly, regarding the market’s potentials, Asia-Pacific countries currently account for over 30 per cent of Airbus and Boeing’s order backlog, which will translate into the production of 12,000 aircrafts. These two airlines are also facing challenges to cater to the highly increasing demand for airplanes in Asia. Such demand has also been witnessed in Vietnam, where Vietjet and Bamboo Airways announced purchases of 71 Airbus aircrafts and 20 Boeing ones in total. According to Mr. Loebbaka, Vietnam will potentially become a key supplier of aerospace components due to its continuous development in aviation sales.
Secondly, Vietnam is a promising source of high-quality workforce. Mr. Kevin Loebbaka said: “With my 10-year working experience at UAC in Anaheim California, Vietnamese labors have proven to be outstanding at their technical capabilities in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). We maintained the belief that Vietnam would soon be our next launching location and therefore we are starting our plan with Da Nang.”
According to Mr. Loebbaka, in Da Nang, UAC plans to produce 4,000 aircraft components of Boeing 787, 777 and 737 for exporting to North America, Europe, and Asia. Besides, the national employment rate will be greatly raised with UAC’s plans to employ about 650 people by 2021 and more than 1,000 people by 2023. Many programs are also projected to be organized to recruit and train engineers, technicians as well as experts in Da Nang.
Additionally, in order to meet the growing production needs, UAC will develop a “satellite” business chain to provide auxiliary industrial services, which is expected to indirectly create jobs for over 2,000 workers indirectly.
UAC is a global leading manufacturer and supplier of aerospace components and has established many long-term contracts with all major aircraft manufacturers such as Boeing and Airbus, so they expect to reach an export value of $25 million in 2021, $85 million by 2022, and surpassing $180 million per year after 2026.
Translated & Edited by: Dandelion & September
